Crunchyroll #14 Beef and Bellpeppers from Cowboy Bebop

Momentous news this past week! Crunchyroll and Funimation have partnered to share anime across platforms, which is honestly a dream come true for me. Nothing annoys me more than having to get like 5 different subscriptions to different media viewing platforms, just to watch the anime I want. I am so, so pleased with this partnership and hope that it foreshadows great changes for the US based anime viewing industry.

To celebrate this grand occassion, I thought it would be nice to create a dish that symbolizes teamwork and cooperation in all the best ways. A show that has famous duos who are forced to work together through extreme circumstances. Some of the ideas I had–like Death Note—I couldn’t do because they’re not Crunchy shows. Other ideas, like Gurren Lagaan with Kamina and Kittan felt a little awkward because, well, you know how that ends. The internet is so rife with Sword Art Online recipes already, I didn’t feel compelled to add more to the mix. I was really struggling to get inspired about anything.

So, I did what I always do in times of turmoil: I watched anime! Haha, that sounded dramatic, but I honestly did decide to go check out some of the new shows Crunchy now has, thanks to Funimation, and so I watched Cowboy Bebop, which, until yesterday, I’m sorry to say I’d never seen before. What should I be so lucky to find? The famous Beef with Bell Peppers dish, in the very first episode! Jet makes it for Spike (sans beef), which results in a comical reveal of their situation. They’re poor (who isn’t, let’s be real), and are searching for criminals to collect money for their bounty. The pair are a great duo, going on space escapdes together and collecting more friends along the way. If Crunchyroll and Funimation can do the same, I will be very happy.

Then, slice bell peppers in half, and scoop out the seeds and pith on the inside. Thinly slice.

Prepare the onion and mushrooms by thinly slicing.

Also, finely mince your garlic. I like to grate mine. While doing that, heat a pan on high, and put a splash of oil in the pan. When heated up, throw the beef pieces in.

Salt and pepper well. When mostly brown, push to the outer edges of the pan and throw in bell peppers.

After a minute, make room for the onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Salt and pepper again to make sure everything is nicely seasoned.

It was at this point that I realized I was sorely in need of a bigger pan. I implore you, if you make this…it makes a LOT. Use a big pan!! Save yourself the worry. If you don’t have a big pan…just keep on tossing so everything cooks evenly. Once everything has had a minute to start a-cookin, pour in the liquid and toss.

Allow everything to simmer down! I ended up using a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce a bit, since I like thicker sauces. To do this, just mix a little of the sauce together with some cornstarch. At some point, shake over a bit of paprika to add an extra kick.

Then, pour this back into the pan and keeeeeeep on tossing. When the sauce is the right thickness, it’s done! 😀

Serve over rice. I bought mine from the Hawaiian BBQ place right next to my new apartment, because I can’t be bothered to cook my own. This was really easy to make! Besides chopping veggies, there isn’t much to it, which is possibly what makes it such a famous dish with the crew of the Bebop. This recipe makes a ton- it can feed at least 4-6 people, and will definitely feed ME for many moons.

Anyway, here’s to celebrating the new allliance between Funimation and Crunchyroll! I am very excited about this sharing of resources between the two companies-with any luck, it’ll be a huge success on every front. I personally think it’ll be a great partnership- much like the crew of of the Bebop- bringing the anime industry to new, great horizons. Here’s hoping they can pull it off 😀

I hope you enjoyed this post! To check out more anime food recipes, visit my blog for more anime and manga themed food. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below! I recently got a twitter, so you can follow me at @yumpenguinsnack if you would like, and DEFINITELY feel free to send me food requests! My tumblr is yumpenguinsnacks.tumblr.com. Enjoy the food, and if you decide to recreate this dish, show me pics! 😀

In case you missed it, check out our last dish: omurice from “Mob Psycho 100”. What other famous anime dishes would you like to see Emily make on COOKING WITH ANIME?